Sam is the Founder and Director of Modal Architecture, an architectural designer and Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP Design 3) with more than thirteen years of experience designing and delivering architectural projects across New Zealand.
Architecture has been a focus for Sam from an early age. Long before it became a career, he was interested in how homes were designed and in using the latest digital tools to draw, model and explore ideas in three dimensions. That early curiosity developed into a career spanning architectural design, technical documentation and delivery, team leadership and helping grow emerging New Zealand businesses before starting Modal Architecture.
Sam founded Modal Architecture in 2021 with the ambition of creating a design practice that approached residential architecture differently. From the beginning, he wanted good design, comfort, energy efficiency and environmental performance to be considered together rather than treated as separate additions to a project. Early in the development of the practice, Sam completed the New Zealand Green Building Council’s Homestar Practitioner Certification, embedding those principles into the way Modal would approach the design of homes from the outset. He believes a home should be a genuine reflection of the people who live there, shaped around their personalities, routines and the way they want to experience everyday life. Today, he leads the design and direction of Modal’s projects, working alongside clients, the wider design team, consultants and builders from the earliest ideas through to construction.
Passionate and energetic by nature, Sam enjoys the challenge of resolving complex sites and ambitious briefs. He has a strong interest in the relationship between design, technology and building performance, and continues to explore new software, construction methods and ways of working that can improve both the design process and the finished home. Building on the principles established early in Modal’s development, he has also completed Passive House Institute New Zealand (PHINZ) CEPH1 training, bringing passive house design principles into his approach to creating comfortable, energy efficient and low energy homes.
Outside the studio, Sam gravitates towards good food and the outdoors. He enjoys cooking and entertaining, has a particular appreciation for a well made Negroni, and is happiest around the water or exploring somewhere new. Beaches, being around the ocean, hiking and time outdoors provide a counterpoint to architecture, although good buildings and interesting design have a habit of finding their way into his travels too.
Ultimately, Sam’s motivation is simple: to help New Zealanders create homes that feel uniquely theirs. Not houses designed around a particular architectural fashion, but thoughtful, individual places that respond to their setting and make everyday life better.
